As attendees of the 22nd annual TAP Gala look on, Debbie Guilbault, executive director of Positive Connections, is arrested - all in good fun - Saturday at the Ramada Hotel and Convention Center. Guilbault was arrested for "working the crowd" and had to spend five minutes in jail.

Women decked out in flapper attire and men wearing suits and hats fashioned like those from the 1920s filled the Ramada Hotel and Convention Center’s ballroom Saturday.

While attendees may have been wearing clothing similar to that of people during the Prohibition era, there was plenty of wine and beer, along with food, entertainment and games.

The 22nd annual Topeka AIDS Project Gala for Positive Connections kicked off at 6 p.m. with games and a silent auction. Later in the evening, a live auction was offered.

This year’s theme was “Roaring Twenties: Rally Against the Prohibition on Social Programming.”

Last year’s event, with a theme of An Evening in the Tropics, raised about $22,000 for Positive Connections, said Debbie Guilbault, executive director of Positive Connections. In the past, the event has raised between $25,000 and $35,000.

The funding is especially important since the organization, which offers free HIV testing, preventative eduction and resources and services to HIV-positive people, lost $30,000 in funding from Shawnee County, Guilbault said. Positive Connections relies on funding from the state of about $100,000; $36,000 from the United Way of Greater Topeka; and money from the city of Topeka.

The organization’s caseload has increased to about 150. The group’s caseload in 2012 was 144, up from 126 in 2011.

“We’re seeing more people with less funds, so this night becomes so important,” she said.

About 200 people attended Saturday’s event.

Guilbault gave an interview to The Topeka Capital-Journal from the confines of a jail set up specifically for Saturday’s party. For a minimum $10 donation, attendees could have others from the crowd arrested. Those arrested had to pay to get out or spend five minutes behind bars.

“People are having fun,” Guilbault said.

Daryl Hendrix, of Topeka, works with artists in the community to paint Cash Pigs. Each piggy bank includes cash, ranging from $25 to $500, and one special pig contained two tickets to the 2015 TAP Gala. This year, 12 piggy banks were decorated for the event. The banks were auctioned off during the gala.

As the Topeka Jazz Workshop Band played music, guests dined on food from a buffet and had a chance to enjoy drinks and browse auction items.